Thursday, February 21, 2008

Boy or Girl?

I know you were expecting this earlier, but our appointment was after Matt got off work and we needed to do some grocery shopping before we headed back to Tehachapi. It just now occurred to me that I should've taken a poll. I know not many people visit this blog, especially since so many must've given up on me months ago with my posts so few and far between. But it would've been fun to have those of you who did see my last post comment and give me your guess, boy or girl. You know, it really isn't too late for that. Haha, just kidding. I won't make you wait any longer.

Our ultrasound went really well today. Because this baby moves and kicks so much less than Joshua did, I made sure to get a little sugar in me ahead of time in attempt to encourage some movement. Boy did we ever get it! Baby was kicking and flipping and moving all over the place. The picture was much clearer than I remember it being with Joshua, too. We saw a perfectly complete spine, including tailbone, the four chambers of the heart, different parts of the brain, kidneys, profile, everything. No cleft lip, heartrate at 155 beats/min. The complete head measurement was a big thing (for us) in contrast to Joshua's ultrasounds. We had to go back two additional times because the little booger just wanted to tuck himself in without budging (not that we minded the extra excuses to see him). Baby weighs about 13 ounces which is right on track. And even though the u/s was only 2D we did get to see that Baby's feet were all the way next to the head; we even saw Baby grab one foot, so cool!

Have I made you read through enough yet? Tell me the truth, how many of you actually scrolled down to this part before reading everything because you were too impatient? Are you ready? Baby is..................

A GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Can you believe it? How perfect is that, a precious boy followed by a precious girl?! We certainly are blessed either way and would've been thrilled with another boy, but we get to have one of each, so exciting! The u/s tech took her time getting measurements of everything else before finally checking on the gender. On the screen we saw two little legs sticking out and between them...absolutely nothing. I must say that I am tempted to be a little leary without having a second u/s to confirm this finding. But then I think about how much this kid really did move all over, how much the tech moved that probe all over my belly to get every angle checked thoroughly and nothing "extra" popped up anywhere. With Joshua's ultrasounds it was very obvious from the get-go. That first one I laid on the table with a full bladder not realizing that the equipment there is so good that this was not only unnecessary but a hindrance. When I returned from, ahem, emptying ;) the tech told us she could tell what we were having immediately before I got up. So, for those of you who are also tempted to be leary, I think we're safe!

Matt and I are so excited. And even though Joshua hasn't shown any excitement, not even while watching the ultrasound on the 'TV' (hehe, obviously he doesn't comprehend any of it yet), we know he's going to love having a new baby sister...especially picking on her ;D. About a week ago Matt said his guess was a girl, without explaination. About a week before I realized we were expecting, I was daydreaming about having a little girl. And every time I've thought about the baby since, my mind has gone on autopilot that it's a girl. I've had to force myself to consider the possibility/probability of it being a boy. Not in a bad way, of course, but it's just funny how the mindset for boy versus girl really is different. God really did make the two sexes different, so naturally the dynamic of a family is going to change depending on it having two boys or two girls or one of each. In a way I just feel like this is too good to be true because I get what I've wanted for a very long time, a son of my own and a daughter of my own. God is amazing!

Of course I'd planned on just making a quick announcement on our findings and all of you get stuck reading a wordy novel. Sorry, that's just how I write, no matter how hard I try to keep it simple. This doesn't by chance make up for my lack of posts, does it? Blessings to you all; I really am so thrilled to share our exciting news with you :)!

Thursday, February 14, 2008

Happy Valentine's Day!

Okay, so I will no longer "promise" to post photos or anything within a certain timeframe again. I can't stand that I can't be held to my word. Daily life just keeps me busy and I don't know how anyone (especially those who I know are busier than me) can possibly keep up a daily blog...or even a weekly or monthly one!

Happy Valentine's Day to you! Matt gets a 4-day weekend and that's when we'll celebrate. The last time we attempted to go out on V-Day itself we said we'd never do it again; we went to see 50 First Dates, so whenever it was that came out.



Poor Joshua is sick with a cold. His nose and cheeks are so red. At least he got to enjoy some fun outside over the past few weeks. We had quite a bit of snow started with the week of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Matt got a 2 day week, followed by two 3-day weeks, and now this long weekend means two 4-day weeks. 6 snow days in all with the last one accumulating about 6 inches in town; haven't seen that since high school. So, we've got some fun sledding memories. This past weekend my dad came up for a visit and of course that meant a trip to the park for the boys. It was such a beautiful day! Hudson is talking up a storm now, most everything he says is comprehendable. Joshua talks tons, but most of it is his own gibberish. On a side note, it's hilarious to listen to him tell stories and use his hands. The other day he was telling me something (complete with half-laughs every now and then) and when I looked down at a paper in my hands he got up and tapped my hand as if to say, "Mama, look at me while I talk." After another minute I did it again, as experimentation, and sure enough he immediately tapped me to get my attention again. It was the cutest thing!




Please continue to pray for Matt and his pursuing firefighting. On Tuesday he tested for Kern County FD along with about 3200 others. It'll be a few months till the results come, but only the top 200 get to move on. It can be tempting to get discouraged, so please pray for perseverance and faith. While Matt finishes his last fire class this semester I decided to take a break. Not because I need or want it, but because I didn't want to take on a whole lot with my pregnancy. The plus side is now I have time to catch up/finish some orders for some very patient customers, I finally am able to drive down for Wed. morning women's Bible study (well, when weather and health allows), and more importantly I'm enjoying so much more time with Joshua. Nearly every day he surprises us with something new, whether it's just showing an understanding to what we say, or doing something in more of a big boy way.

The first trimester was really rough, just like with Joshua. Surprisingly, my nausea has almost completely disappeared, but the food aversions and sensitivities to smells are abounding. I'm 20 weeks, which means halfway done! My belly is growing at a much quicker pace than last time and things are starting to get uncomfortable. BUT I've been feeling the baby kick, one of my favorite things, and one week from today we get the wonderful ultrasound. It's been hard to wait, just dying to know if Joshua is going to have a baby brother or a baby sister. Without making any promises, I don't think I'll have any trouble next week posting at least that much anticipated news. :)